With all the heavy contracts you guys really want to invest 7-8 mil on a RT ?

If so it will have to be backloaded cause this offseason will be a challenge to sign anyone with our cap. The year after that we will have some more space. We still have Torrey and resigning Suggs. Offseason after that Flacco has to restructure. The future looks interesting to say the least. Exciting though.

Unless the salary cap goes up quite a bit I really doubt Baltimore will be working with any kind of significant cap space in the foreseeable future. As some of the bigger contracts run out they're still going to have talented young players to re-sign.

I'm really interested to see what happens with Oher. I think there are very realistic possibilities for him to re-sign or go elsewhere. The team might want to save money and see what they have with Wagner or Reid at right tackle or they might not feel comfortable with two new starting tackles if/when (better be when) McKinnie gets replaced for next season. If all Oher is at right tackle is average then I'll probably be on the "let him walk" side if he wants anything more than $5-6 million a year.

With all the heavy contracts you guys really want to invest 7-8 mil on a RT ?

If so it will have to be backloaded cause this offseason will be a challenge to sign anyone with our cap. The year after that we will have some more space. We still have Torrey and resigning Suggs. Offseason after that Flacco has to restructure. The future looks interesting to say the least. Exciting though.

Who mentioned $7-8m? I mentioned Yanda money, which is $6.5m. And judging by how Oher has played, he's definitely worth that much. He's an above average option.

And if we actually had a left side that could run block, our right side might actually be able to net better production. His pass protection has also been improved this season over the previous seasons. I think he's having his best pass blocking season to date.

If Oher really wants to return, I think paying him Yanda money is definitely fair value for both sides. I think people are seriously underestimating the value of competent RT play. Remember those years after Pashos but before Willie Anderson? Remember having to struggle through Adam Terry and all that other garbage.

coordinator0 wrote:

I'm really interested to see what happens with Oher. I think there are very realistic possibilities for him to re-sign or go elsewhere. The team might want to save money and see what they have with Wagner or Reid at right tackle

They better not. Both are garbage options. Other than Reid seemingly being the only competent blocker against Wilfork in that AFCCG two years ago, he's done literally nothing but stay hurt and incompetent. It's hard for a third round pick to be a bust, but with our track record... I'd say Reid is a bust.

In terms of Wagner, like I said in another thread. Like the guy as depth... and if Oher so happens to not want to return/gets paid huge bucks (which I doubt as his hype seems to have worn down after failing on the "blindside") then I think Wagner is good enough where we can bring in a veteran to compete with him, yet not necessarily "panic". But beyond that Wagner isn't a starter in my opinion. He's not mean, physical, or polished enough... and that's after coming from one of the best OL programs you can have with Wisconsin- those guys know what they're doing.

And with Oher, he also has the versatility to play LT in a pinch. So I think Oher has to be the main priority. Especially with how likely it should be that McKinnie isn't with this team past this year. This line needs stability and leadership and durability. Oher may not ever be the elite RT we were expecting but he can certainly be a franchise OT. I wouldn't pay him over $7m, but part of our OL investment should be on a rookie contract, so the average price per starting OT shouldn't be too bad._________________

Updated the first post. Apparently Doss may still be a restricted free agent after this season. Nothing else really new besides adding and subtracting some players that the Ravens have made moves with. Right now the Ravens are projected to have $111,879,823 in cap commitments for the 2014-2015 season.

If Tandon Doss still has RFA status, then I expect him to be back. He's proving to be one of the best punt returners in the league this year. Has nice vision and enough explosiveness to hit creases, with a body big enough to bounce off arm tackles. That and he can be a nice #3/#4 WR option.

Michael Oher... is gone. With the addition of Eugene Monroe and Oher's regression from above average to start the season to uninspired play now... bringing him back simply wouldn't be a sound financial decision. Unless Monroe asks for too much and Oher's demands are in that $4.5-5m range. That might be the only possible situation in which he returns.

Bajema also probably isn't back. That'll depend on the direction the Ravens take in the draft. Whether we add a day two TE or not. If it's a day three option, it's feasible that we could return Bajema to compete for the third TE spot, but even then... Pitta's veteran presence should be all that's needed.

Everything else, I'd keep the same from my OP in this thread.

I think Pitta is resigned and he shouldn't cost nearly as much as he would have. Even if he returns this season, if we don't make the playoffs, he's probably not going to be putting his best production forward to remove enough doubt about his injury. A late season return- assuming 100% health- likely would mean he needs to get back into football shape, in chemistry with Flacco, etc. And that's obviously not going to be the best Pitta can probably look under those circumstances. We want him back. It makes the most sense for both parties for him to return.

Daryl Smith is up in the air. I think we'll want him back for a reasonable deal. But Smith is a veteran on his last legs. And if we don't finish in the playoffs that could leave a bad taste in his mouth. He might choose to run to some other playoff contender that could afford to pay him more money and offer him a longer contract. The love affair might end up being one sided.

With Monroe, I think he returns on a reasonable deal for a LT. Likely something in the $7.5m range. He probably could get paid in the 8.5-9m range, but I think this might be one of those circumstances where Ozzie works his magic... or rather Pat Moriarty does (whichever). But we'll see._________________

Early yesterday, Albert Breer of NFL Network reported that the league has told teams that the projected 2014 Salary Cap will be $126.3M.

This projected number represents only a 2.68% increase over the 2013 Salary Cap of $123K, and continues to underlie the belief that the NFL owners played their cards very well during the last CBA negotiations. The NFLPA, on the other hand, is still waiting for their projected spike in the Cap to materialize.

Quote:

PRESENT 2014 CAP SPACE: The Ravens presently have 37 players under contract for 2014, amounting to a Salary Cap commitment of $111,872,323. That would put the Ravens at $13,925,802 under the projected Salary Cap of $126.3M, but again, that is with only 37 players under contract. Once the Ravens have tendered their Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) and Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFAs) that available Cap space will be greatly reduced.

The players I see that probably aren't at risk to have something done with their contract are Webb, Flacco, Yanda, Canty, Smith, and Dumervil. Flacco and Smith are obvious. I think it's unlikely that Webb is asked to restructure or renegotiate his deal at this point. The offensive line is in too bad of shape to let Yanda go and he's not going to (and shouldn't) take a reduction. With Jones likely gone I can't see the team cutting Canty. Dumervil's base salary is so low it'd be ridiculous to try anything with him. Everybody else looks like fair game to me due to performance or a possible extension (Suggs).

The guys in bold, I'd think about talking to about restructuring. Webb is on a significant amount of money, and while I think he deserves it, he might be open to letting the Ravens retool it a little. But I think Ngata has already done that, and might not be keen do do it again. He probably knows he's only got a couple of years left in the league anyway, so I doubt he'll move much.

The guys in red? I think they're gone after the year. Leach barely gets on the field any more, and the Ravens didn't draft Jusczyzk to simply play ST. Jameel McClain is simply not good enough to warrant that much money in a cap-strapped team.

I also wouldn't be averse to the Ravens looking at Punters as UDFAs in the off-season. There should be guys they could pick up who could do a good job, and for much less than Sam Koch is on. He's been overworked so far this year, and his performances have definitely varied.

The others just don't hit the cap enough to be worth bothering with, or simply aren't likely to be asked to restructure, due to their value to the team._________________

The guys in bold, I'd think about talking to about restructuring. Webb is on a significant amount of money, and while I think he deserves it, he might be open to letting the Ravens retool it a little. But I think Ngata has already done that, and might not be keen do do it again. He probably knows he's only got a couple of years left in the league anyway, so I doubt he'll move much.

I don't think Ngata has restructured or renegotiated his deal since he signed it. Restructuring wouldn't really be a detriment to him as all it does is give him almost all the money he's owed throughout the season at one time as a bonus and leave what's left as the veterans minimum. That would increase his cap value by almost $8 million for the last year of his deal though. I don't think it's likely. If anything happens with him I'd look for a renegotiation, but that might not be likely either. That's a hard situation to get a feel for.

If Suggs' production doesn't start to go back up, I don't see why we would keep him at his current price. If we are a team that operates by "right player, right price" and didn't want to keep Anquan, I don't think there's any sense in keeping Suggs at his price when his play has started dropping off as of late._________________XBL GT: SnA ExclusiVe
SteamID: A Flacco Seagulls

If Suggs' production doesn't start to go back up, I don't see why we would keep him at his current price. If we are a team that operates by "right player, right price" and didn't want to keep Anquan, I don't think there's any sense in keeping Suggs at his price when his play has started dropping off as of late.

If Suggs' production doesn't start to go back up, I don't see why we would keep him at his current price. If we are a team that operates by "right player, right price" and didn't want to keep Anquan, I don't think there's any sense in keeping Suggs at his price when his play has started dropping off as of late.

"As of late" meaning 5 games?

Yes..? Aside from the first 4 or so games this year, Suggs hasn't been a force in a VERY long time, which attributes back to his injury.

Either way, Suggs is getting up there in age, and if his production can't stay at an elite level, with Dumervil locked up and playing better (imo) we can release/trade/restructure Suggs to open up money elsewhere.

However, I love Suggs and hope that he starts playing like the Sizzle we all know. It's been disappointing seeing him become basically a non factor in most games as of late._________________XBL GT: SnA ExclusiVe
SteamID: A Flacco Seagulls

Honestly I think Suggs will be a Raven for life and gets an extension either this offseason or the next. I hope it's this offseason since that would free up some cap space (likely that they'd renegotiate his deal for next year if they gave him an extension) and help with keeping some of the other guys.

If Suggs' production doesn't start to go back up, I don't see why we would keep him at his current price. If we are a team that operates by "right player, right price" and didn't want to keep Anquan, I don't think there's any sense in keeping Suggs at his price when his play has started dropping off as of late.

"As of late" meaning 5 games?

Yes..? Aside from the first 4 or so games this year, Suggs hasn't been a force in a VERY long time, which attributes back to his injury.

Either way, Suggs is getting up there in age, and if his production can't stay at an elite level, with Dumervil locked up and playing better (imo) we can release/trade/restructure Suggs to open up money elsewhere.

However, I love Suggs and hope that he starts playing like the Sizzle we all know. It's been disappointing seeing him become basically a non factor in most games as of late.

I don't think ANY sort of decision on his long term status on the team should be determined by a single 5 game stretch. The fact of the matter is, Suggs is still playing at a high level for us this season. And one of the main reasons Dumervil is being so successful is because of Suggs opposite him. Dumervil, while he may be getting more sacks than Suggs right now, isn't playing better overall that Suggs._________________

If Suggs' production doesn't start to go back up, I don't see why we would keep him at his current price. If we are a team that operates by "right player, right price" and didn't want to keep Anquan, I don't think there's any sense in keeping Suggs at his price when his play has started dropping off as of late.

"As of late" meaning 5 games?

Yes..? Aside from the first 4 or so games this year, Suggs hasn't been a force in a VERY long time, which attributes back to his injury.

Either way, Suggs is getting up there in age, and if his production can't stay at an elite level, with Dumervil locked up and playing better (imo) we can release/trade/restructure Suggs to open up money elsewhere.

However, I love Suggs and hope that he starts playing like the Sizzle we all know. It's been disappointing seeing him become basically a non factor in most games as of late.

I don't think ANY sort of decision on his long term status on the team should be determined by a single 5 game stretch. The fact of the matter is, Suggs is still playing at a high level for us this season. And one of the main reasons Dumervil is being so successful is because of Suggs opposite him. Dumervil, while he may be getting more sacks than Suggs right now, isn't playing better overall that Suggs.

In what facet is he playing at a high level right now, and where did I say his contract should be judged just off of this 5 game stretch? Suggs is a pretty good run defender, but so is Upshaw. Suggs doesn't command double teams, so why would that have any impact on Dumervil's performance?_________________XBL GT: SnA ExclusiVe
SteamID: A Flacco Seagulls